Abstract

It has been estimated that out of the 33 million internally displaced persons in the world according to the UNHCR Global Trends of 2010, women and children account for a significant number of the world’s internally displaced persons. The main objective of this study is to examine the living conditions of internally displaced women and children towards better humanitarian assistance in selected communities in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon. Specifically, the study examined the health situation of IDPs women and children, the food and nutrition of IDP women and children, to determine the accessibility of shelter and Non-food items (NFIs) to IDP women and children and establish the problems/challenges encountered by IDPs Women and Children. In order to achieve the study objectives, a stratified and purposive random sampling was employed using a sample size of 350 participants with the help of a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS (21.0), where descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage distribution of variables were calculated. Findings revealed that the mean age of women was 35±1.2years. Health conditions revealed that more than (50.0%) IDPs women and children were not in good health conditions. Majority suffering from health diseases such as malaria, typhoid, common cold, skin diseases, HIV/AIDS etc. Most do not have access to health facilities where they live especially those living in camps (bush). Food and Nutrition of the IDPs women and children revealed that most of the IDPs (71.2%) were unable to afford food for themselves and their family. On average only (47.88%) of the IDPs women and children can afford only 2meals a day, thus suffered risks of malnutrition especially among infants. With regards to Shelter and NFIs of IDPs women and children, the majority live with friends and relatives (57.0%), others live in camps(bush) (10.2%) and NGOs (16.7%) camps. Majority of the IDPs women and children (78.2%) live in poor sanitation with an inadequate hygienic source of water as most of them depend on streams and wells for their source of water. The major challenges encountered by IDPs women and children include; Hunger and insufficient nutrients, Access to medicine/drugs, Sexual abuse, Corruption, Unemployment, Access to medical services/irregular medical care, lack of security, No freedom of movement and Lack of documentation. The study recommended that Government and NGOs in charge of the (IDPs) should pay close attention to the security information need, sex abuse, health information need, education information need, vocational training, and provision of food and ensure their safety in the camps.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Over the past two decades, in the face of civil conflict, natural or economic disasters, or other challenges, an alarming number of people around the world have had to leave their homes and livelihoods. They are called ‘ internally displaced persons ‘ (IDPs) and not refugees because they do not cross an international border. Figures show that the number of IDPs has risen steadily since the early 1980s and people are now displaced in 56 countries. The estimate accepted is that 20-25 million people are internally displaced as a result of war and 25 million more as a result of natural disasters. There are around 12 million refugees worldwide by contrast (WFP, 2000).

Former United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan once said, “The great tragedy of our time is internal displacement. The internally displaced are among the human family’s most vulnerable” (UNOCHA, 1998; OCHA, 2004; Afjn, 2017). Millions of people are forced to flee their homes or places of habitual residence each year, including in the context of conflict, violence, development projects, disasters and climate change, and remain displaced within their countries of residence (Cohen, 2006). Millions more live in situations of protracted displacement or chronic displacement or face chronic displacement risk.

The problem of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continues to grow, in magnitude, and complexity, globally. But the problem is even bigger, in relation to the African continent.  Conflicts over decolonization from 1955 to around 1970 in, Angola, Algeria and Zaire, among others, generated large numbers of refugees/IDPs (Ogata, 2005). Intra-state conflicts continued to result to substantial IDP movements in Africa; For example, the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), the liberation struggle in Guinea-Bissau (1963-1973), the Casamance Independence Movement in Senegal (1980 till date), the Mauritanian conflict of 1989, the conflict that tore apart the River Mano countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia between 1999 and 2000, the Nigeria-Cameroon Bakassi Peninsula conflict, 2009-2017;  the post electoral crisis in Ivory Coast (2010-2011), the on-going political crisis in Mali, the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria/Cameroon/Chad/Niger Republics, and the more recent Ambazonian Independence Movement in Cameroon (Afrev, 2016). Apart from intrastate and interstate conflicts that have resulted to the creation of the IDP situation, the natural disasters (floods, land slide and drought) too have led to the displacement of many people within their national territories.

According to the immediate past   Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon (2014) displacement remains arguably the most significant humanitarian challenge facing the world (Afrev, 2016). A 2016 estimate of the Geneva based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), asserts that, there are approximately 40.3 million displaced persons excluding development induced displacement across the world, half of which are found in Africa. This suggests that more than 15million people are internally displaced in Africa, and 9 of the 24 countries with the highest rate of displacement are African such as, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Sudan and Cameroon (Crisp 2010).

In the past two decades, an alarming number of people worldwide have had to abandon their homes and livelihoods in the face of civil conflict, natural or economic disasters, or other threats. We are called ‘ internally displaced persons ‘ (IDPs) and not refugees because they do not cross an international border. Figures show that the number of IDPs has steadily increased since the early 1980s and people are now homeless, just to name a few, in about 56 countries like Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda, Iraq. An accepted estimate is that about 20-25 million people are internally displaced due to conflict and another 25 million from natural disasters. There are around 12 million refugees worldwide by comparison (WFP, 2000). Statistics by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Global Trends (2014) reported that approximately 60 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, including more than 19.5 million refugees, 38.2 million internally displaced persons and 1.8 million asylum seekers. As the number of IDPs continue to increase attempts at management becomes even more challenging for riddle countries. Notably global efforts at managing displacement have concentrated more on refugees than IDPs. Yet the latter equally constitute a challenge to global civilization (Afrev, 2016).

The forced displacement of civilians remains one of the most pressing humanitarian problems in developing countries. The displaced people lose their social, legal and economic relations and suffer significant physical and psychological suffering as a result. We also face special challenges that are not shared with other communities impacted by violence that render their livelihoods precarious. In particular, these are problems related to the re-establishment of livelihoods in areas of temporary settlement or reintegration in unstable areas where traditional livelihoods are no longer viable (WFP, 2000). On the one hand, IDPs do have special needs, while on the other hand, -there is growing consensus that IDPs should not be singled out for special treatment (WFP, 2000). People may not wish to be classified as IDPs and may incur even greater security risks as a result (IASC, 1999).

IDPs ‘ food, shelter and protection requirements should be guaranteed by their governments, but this assistance may be inadequate in countries divided by war or ethnic tensions, or where governments have very limited resources. This is especially true when the economic and social infrastructure of the country has been devastated and it is difficult for its displaced people to return home to resume long-term livelihood activities. Governments have become more responsive in acknowledging their primary responsibility for protecting and assisting affected populations under their control, especially displace persons in the northern region of Cameroon (WFP, 2000). When lack of capacity does not allow them to discharge that responsibility, many are becoming less reticent to seek assistance from the international community especially like the case of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. The Anglophone crisis has tampered with the peace and harmony of Cameroon as a nation, particularly in the South West and North West Regions of the country. The victims of war, combat, confrontation or conflict are not just those who die in the fighting, those who live to tell the story, who live with pains and memories that can never make them stay the same again.

In addition, they face difficulties in exercising rights to housing, land and property, and are often excluded from decision-making processes, and they are found to be more susceptible to emotional, sexual and other gender based violence (SGBV), usually exacerbated by an increase in alcoholism, typically backlash of the displacement which is capable of making men feel helpless, insecure and frustrated due to their economic and psychological inability to sustain the expected gender roles, thereby making them turn women into scapegoats (Gupta et al, 2009 & Ghimire, 2012; Gupta et al, 2009). All of the foregoing is deemed to be capable of causing depression and physical deterioration, which may in turn manifest in posttraumatic stress syndrome (Benjamin & Fancy, 1998).

Cameroon (Cameroon) was a German colony from 1884 to February 1916, when joint Anglo-French and Belgian forces defeated and expelled the Germans from the region during World War I.  Britain and France decided to set up a joint Anglo-French administration in the newly conquered territory, but the initiative was short-lived (Walter, 2004). As a result of the failure of this cooperation, Britain and France decided to divide the country in 1919 along the Picot Provisional Partition Line, through the Simon-Milner Agreement, to allow each of them to administer their own territory separately. The separate territories became mandates of Britain and France with the establishment of the League of Nations. Where each territory was governed according to the administrative system of their colonial masters. This meant that the legal, educational, monetary and even political arrangements were significantly different in the two territories (Ngo, 1999).

With the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, the territories changed in status from mandated territories of the League of Nations to trust territories of the UN. A very significant ramification of this change of status was that the trust territories were to be administered in preparation for self-government.

France-administered territory (French Cameroon) gained independence as the Republic of Cameroon on 1 January 1960. Through a plebiscite, the territories administered by the United Kingdom (British Southern Cameroon and British Northern Cameroon), which were semi-independent territories administered as part of Nigeria, had to decide to obtain their full independence by joining either Nigeria. The plebiscite took place on February 11, 1961. British Northern Cameroon voted to join independent Nigeria, while British Southern Cameroon voted for independence by joining Cameroon’s already independent Republic. There was no third option for self-governance for these territories (Ngo, 1999).

British Southern Cameroon and the Republic of Cameroun agreed on a two-state federation, and drew up a federal constitution that effectively guaranteed independent administration of the States under a central federal authority. The federal constitution came into force on 1 October 1961, and the entity became the Federal Republic of Cameroon.  Nonetheless, on May 20, 1972, then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo called for a constitutional referendum that saw 98.2% of voting turnout vote 99.99% for a unitary constitution (African Elections Database, 2017). Thus the country changed to the United Republic of Cameroon from the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The current president, Paul Biya, passed a decree on 4 February 1984 that changed the name of the country from the United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon. As such, when it gained its independence in 1960, many people felt it was a return to French Cameroon’s appellation.

Socio-political issues in and about the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon had been a matter of contention since independence in 1960 and 1961. In the North-West (NW) and South-West (SW) areas, violence erupted in 2016, triggering security clampdowns. With the rise of non-state armed groups (NSAG) and the deployment of military forces to the areas, the situation turned to armed conflict. This situation has led to multiple civilian casualties and continues to have serious consequences on livelihoods and living conditions of the affected populations (UNHCR, 2018).

1.2 Statement of The Problem

As mentioned in the background, the protection and assistance issues of IDPs have been suffering from lack of legal and institutional frameworks for a long time. IDPs, sometimes known as ‘internal refugees’ have been neglected and excluded from the benefits of international protection, unlike refugees proper, mainly for the mere fact that the former have not crossed international border (s). As the number of IDPs continues to rise, management efforts for riddled nations are becoming more difficult. Global attempts to manage displacement have focused more on refugees than on IDPs. However, the latter is similarly a challenge for worldwide culture (Afrev, 2016).

Above and beyond, the displaced persons have seen a lighter shade of death with the hardship and sufferings they have endured in recent times. Some of them are lost and have no suspicion of the where-about of their loved ones. Living in the IDP camp (or bush) is enough reason for them to be unhappy and upset when they used to be major business owners and land owners.

According to Cernea (2000), food insecurity, an aftermath of homelessness, landlessness and lack of access to basic resources such as good drinking water, shelter and health facilities is one of the fundamental problems facing displaced women and children in selected communities in Fako Division and contributing to their impoverishment. This often results to malnutrition and deaths mostly among girls (children) and women in these communities (Fernandes and Raj, 1992).

Efforts have been made to combat the situation of the crisis in Cameroon. OCHA (2019) reported that several humanitarian supports have been given to victims of the affected regions. 30,000 people in the North-West (NW) received e-voucher assistance from CRS and 2,300 in the South-West (SW) were supported through paper vouchers by IRC, 128,000 people in the NWSW received food and livelihood assistance, 12,795 children were vaccinated for polio and 11,156 for measles in the SW. Out of 1,814 children aged 6-59 months screened for acute malnutrition, 63 were diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and were referred for treatment. A total of 34 WASH activities were implemented in the NWSW reaching 11,247 individuals (NW 4,479 and SW 6,768). However, this assistance given have only reach a few fraction of the IDPs and many IDPs have still been left. Thus this study however, in turn examines the living conditions of women and children IDPs in selected communities in Fako division, South West Region of Cameroon.

1.3 Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to examine the living conditions of internally displaced women and children towards better humanitarian assistance in selected communities in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon.

1.3.1 Specific objectives

1. To find out the health situation of IDPs women and children in selected communities in Fako Division.
2. To examine the food and nutrition situation of IDP women and children in selected communities’ in Fako Division.
3. To examine accessibility of shelter and Non-Food Items (NFIs) to IDP women and children in selected communities’ in Fako Division.
4. To examine current humanitarian assistance and sustainable strategies of IDP women and children in selected communities’ in Fako Division.